NBA Notes : Jordan Deserved to Win the MVP Award, but So Did Magic

If it is any consolation to those of you who were indignant when Magic Johnson was selected as the National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player instead of Michael Jordan, you were right. Jordan deserved to win the award as much as Johnson. Only a fool would argue otherwise.

But if anyone attempted to build up Jordan by minimizing Magic’s greatness, that was wrong. Unfortunately, that seems to have become a habit among the passionate Jordan supporters who repeatedly present this argument: Who would be hurt more? The Bulls without Jordan, or the Lakers without Magic?

That is not a relevant argument to the MVP award, but as long as it is an issue, the opinion here is that each team would be hurt about the same.

That’s not to say the veteran Lakers are not better than the younger Bulls. But as good as James Worthy is, he is no more of a “franchise” player than Kevin McHale, who led the Larry Birdless Celtics to eighth place in the Eastern Conference this season.

Byron Scott? A.C. Green? Michael Cooper? Mychal Thompson? A 42-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? All role players. Without Johnson, the Lakers are an eighth-place Western Conference team. Yes, they would be better than the Bulls without Jordan, but then, the current Lakers with Magic are better than the Bulls with Jordan. If each player left his respective team, neither team would be a championship contender.

The more important question is, If Jordan was on the Lakers, would they be a championship team? The answer is a resounding yes. But would they have averaged more than the 59 victories they have averaged in Magic’s 10 years? And would they have won more than five championships? Very unlikely.

And here’s the issue the Jordan supporters fail to address or recognize: If Magic was on the Bulls, would the Bulls still be near the 50-victory mark, capable of upsetting a couple of teams to make it to the conference finals and perhaps the NBA finals?

And that answer, too, is a resounding yes. Carry it one step further. If Jordan was a Laker and Johnson was a Bull, which team would be hurt more? The Lakers without Jordan or the Bulls without Magic?

Besides, those who get so worked up are missing the point. Hey, each player deserved the award, but only one can win it in any given year. Somebody has to finish second. And it is hardly an insult to be voted the second most valuable basketball player in the world.

One of the worst suggestions resulting from the MVP argument is to add another postseason award. Lakers Coach Pat Riley said, “If ever there was a person who walked out of an alien spaceship, it’s Michael Jordan. He’s the most outstanding player in professional basketball. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the most outstanding player is the most valuable player. If Michael had won, he would have been deserving, too. It’s like I’ve been saying all along. There should be two awards -- most valuable and most outstanding.”

Wrong, Pat. Where do you stop? Does the NBA eventually have an MVP in the East and West? Or an MVP of each division? Then what? Best forward? Best guard? Best center? And does this mean that NBA Commissioner David Stern can get a sponsor for each new award? Forget that, Pat. The current system is the best. And besides, we’re supposed to argue about these issues.

One of the most interesting comments from Magic after he won the MVP award was that he would like to play the Bulls and Jordan in the NBA finals. Johnson said it would be good for basketball because there would be so much fan interest on Magic vs. Michael.

That’s true, but two of Johnson’s best friends during the off-season are Detroit’s Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre. Apparently, Johnson doesn’t believe friendship should stand in the way of a good show.

Seattle Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said last week that he has rested since the Sonics’ second-round loss to the Lakers, and that he is no longer considering retirement. Bickerstaff said that speculation in Seattle that he would give up his job, in part because the Sonics lost a 29-point lead to the Lakers in Game 4, was not true.

“The 29-point lead?” Bickerstaff said. “Hell, I’m used to that with this team.”

The Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs, who have the second and third picks in the college draft, reportedly are willing to trade those picks for veteran players. There had been rumors that the Clippers were trying to acquire Clyde Drexler with their pick, but reports from Portland indicate that Drexler is untouchable.

The Blazers, meanwhile, would consider trading Jerome Kersey for a lottery pick. Before the lottery, the Blazers offered Kersey and their first-round pick (No. 12) to San Antonio for Willie Anderson and the Spurs’ pick, but the Spurs rejected the deal.

Jazz officials have said they have no plans for a major shakeup after the Midwest Division champions were eliminated, 3-0, by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

But other NBA executives indicate the Jazz may be willing to part with sixth man Thurl Bailey, who made only 4 of 17 shots in the last two games against the Warriors. Reports in Utah indicate the Cleveland Cavaliers offered guard Ron Harper for Bailey after the 1987-88 season, but the Jazz rejected the deal.

The Suns have an unusual coaching situation with Cotton Fitzsimmons as head coach while Paul Westphal is the “coach-in-waiting.” Fitzsimmons has been characterized as abrasive and demanding and intense throughout his coaching career, but he said he has mellowed.

And he attributes part of that to Westphal, whom Fitzsimmons watched coach at Grand Canyon College, an NAIA school in Phoenix. “I was watching Paul during a game, and his son Michael, who was about 10, came on the floor, tugged at his coat, and asked him for some money to go to the concession stand,” Fitzsimmons said. “So Paul gives him a dollar. I’d have gone crazy if my son had done that to me. But that’s one of the things I liked about Paul. He never gets ruffled. I like that better than I like my own traits.”